Fabulous Artificers: The Building of Civil Europe 1951-1972 (Seminar Series of the ADGRC)

Dates:

Thu 05 Apr 2018 11.30 - 13.00

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2018-04-05 11:302018-04-05 13:00Europe/ParisFabulous Artificers: The Building of Civil Europe 1951-1972 (Seminar Series of the ADGRC)

This research monograph, which is due to be published in 2019, focuses on the first two decades of European integration. Based on a wide range of archival sources, it argues that that the early architects of European integration – the specific group of European Commission (and before that High Authority) officials that I refer to as Fabulous Artificers – had a vision of an integrated Civil Europe. In other words, they believed that the stimulation of a European civil consciousness and a feeling of belonging to Europe amongst an ordinary European public was essential to the maintenance of peace and the longevity of the European integration project. In order to stimulate such a European civil consciousness they engaged in civil initiatives in the fields of education, culture and the media. In the presentation I will show what the vision of Civil Europe consisted of and how the European Commission attempted to achieve its civil intentions via the building of European Schools, the Community’s participation in the Expo 58 and through the production of its own documentaries. What these initiatives show is that the European Commission had a genuine interest in European citizens from the start and believed that European civil integration was as important as economic and political integration.

This research monograph, which is due to be published in 2019, focuses on the first two decades of European integration. Based on a wide range of archival sources, it argues that that the early architects of European integration – the specific group of European Commission (and before that High Authority) officials that I refer to as Fabulous Artificers – had a vision of an integrated Civil Europe. In other words, they believed that the stimulation of a European civil consciousness and a feeling of belonging to Europe amongst an ordinary European public was essential to the maintenance of peace and the longevity of the European integration project. In order to stimulate such a European civil consciousness they engaged in civil initiatives in the fields of education, culture and the media. In the presentation I will show what the vision of Civil Europe consisted of and how the European Commission attempted to achieve its civil intentions via the building of European Schools, the Community’s participation in the Expo 58 and through the production of its own documentaries. What these initiatives show is that the European Commission had a genuine interest in European citizens from the start and believed that European civil integration was as important as economic and political integration.